Cherry
by SentimentalDefect
Summary: A NEW sick Mulder fic for all you x-files lovers out there. Mulder and a bad cold are the perfect recipe for a little TLC from Scully, and maybe an opportunity for our favorite agents to have some closure.


Rating: G

Timeline: Between "Chimera" and "All Things" in season 7

Copyright: I do not own the X files or the characters, all property of Chris Carter and FOX

Genre: A Sick Mulder fanfic (my favorite) with lots of romance & tenderness

Mulder sneezed for what felt like the millionth time today, or maybe that hour.. or maybe in the last ten minutes... Regardless of the time gap, his head was beginning to really hurt and his nose was so stuffed up he could hardly breathe. The tiny basement office was dark, lit only by a single overhead fixture and the florescent pulse coming from he and Scully's computer screens. Other than the perpetual sniffing coming from Mulder's end of the office it was quiet, and the silence seemed oddly out of place.

Scully looked up disapprovingly from above her glasses and bit her tongue. She had tried and tried and tried to convince Mulder to go home, that he didn't need to be here and that she could handle everything- but of course he hadn't listened to any of it. After hearing every possible excuse in the book she had finally given up, dropping a fresh box of tissues onto his desk and letting him be.

Scully had managed to successfully occupy herself for the past half hour, still looking over at Mulder periodically to gage when she should interfere. Peeking over her laptop again she observed her partner's condition: fever glazed eyes, uneasy breathing, and constant sniffling. Perfect. With any luck he'd have phenonuia by Monday. She weighed her options...After assessing him for a moment she decided to give him ten minutes. Then she threaten to tell Skinner.

Mulder sensed her gaze and sniffed, brushing his hand under his nose in an attempt to seem casual. However after a few seconds of staring blankly at his computer screen he felt another sneeze build up. He tried to brush it away, turning toward to filing cabinet in search of a piece of scrap paper. The burning in his nose built, and he tried to hold it in but finally it was just too-

"HESSSSSSSSHHOOOO!" The force caused most of the paper on his desk to go flying, not to mention start an itch in his throat that immediately turned into a cough. After the cough he felt another sneeze building, bearly allowing him a breath before-

"A..a...ACHOO! ugh..." The groan escaped his mouth before he could hold it back. He closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to pull himself out of a foggy, cold medicine induced daze. He heard Scully's heels tapping the floor towards him before feeling a warm hand brush across his cheek. He gritted his teeth: here it comes...

"Any chance you've changed your mind about leaving?" She asked, handing him a tissue.

"Not a chance." He muttered, blowing his nose and coughing again. Another sneeze threatened to escape him as he opened his mouth. "Besides, I really don...on...ah...haHACHO!" His nose began to run profusely and he snatched a tissue off his desk, blowing hard in an attempt to clear his airways. Scully shook her head.

"Mulder you have a fever and you can bearly sit up. Go home before you infect the entire office."

He knew she was right, and he also knew she would win this fight, sooner or later. Sighing, Mulder opened his eyes and looked up into the beautiful, irritated face above him.

"Go home." Scully repeated. "You're sick and you should be in bed."

Mulder was now feeling thoroughly awful- his head was pounding and he could feel another sneeze coming on. The thought of a warm bed was deeply appealing, and he knew deep down that Scully could handle the rest of the report.

Opening his mouth he managed: " Fidne. Dall go hobe." before another sneeze enveloped him.

Sympatheticlly Scully handed him another tissue before grabbing the keys off his desk and tossing his coat into his lap.

"Come on." She said, gesturing for him to get up. "I'll drive you."

Mulder looked up from his tissue and shook his head. "No Scully it's fine. I'm sure you have dead people who need your professional eye more than I do..."

"Without my eye, you'd have ended up in morgue a long time ago. Now get your things together and I'll go warm up your car."

Mulder began to object.

"Look Mulder either I can drive you home or I'll call Skinner in here and he will..."

"Okay okay I'll be right out!" Mulder insisted, raising his hands in defeat.

"Good." There was a slight smirk on Scully's face.

She turned heel and exited the tiny office, her heels tap tapping on every step. Just before she was completely out of view her skirt slipped a little, revealing a perfect triangle of creamy skin on her calf. Mulder smiled for a millisecond, felt the shiver do gown his spine that had nothing to do with his fever. Although he'd never have admitted it, he was glad Scully wanted to drive him home, glad that she cared.

She cared about him.

The thought made his body temperature rise a few degrees.

He opened his mouth to call out to her, a perfect comeback playing along his lips.

"Scully! What kind of- HESCHOOO!"

The sneeze rocked his head forward, his dignity running with his nose.

Slowly the two agents made their way up the stairs and into the elevator, Mulder trying very hard to seem normal, without much success. Every step he took made his legs ache, and any time he opened his mouth he couldn't help but cough or sneeze. Once they were in the car he leaned against the window and shut his eyes. He could feel Scully's gaze boring into his head but he ignored it, too exhausted to care. She brushed a hand across his face again, her touch sending more shivers down his spine.

"HUSCHHO!" He cursed silently as he sniffed, trying to slow the stream of mucus that was surly threatening to begin its flow down his face.

Scully glanced over at him again, concern clear on her face.

"How are you doing?"

"Just peachy." Mulder replied, sniffing and wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

"Here," Scully said, handing him a pristinely folded tissue from her pocket. "I don't think you can last the rest of the ride without flooding the car."

Nodding thanks Mulder took it just in time to sneeze again, reducing the white square to a sodden mess.

Scully eyed him and reached into the back seat, gaze still intent on the road. Her hand re-appeared a second later, clutching a box of tissues that she tossed into his lap.

"Just to be safe." She said.

Mulder had no comment this time, and simply took out another tissue to clear his sinuses in to. He closed his eyes, blearily looking out in to the rain... his eyelids fluttered...

Mulder?

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking and trying to remember where he was. After a moment he remembered the fiasco at the office and turned to face a very anxious Scully sitting in the driver's seat.

She leaned over and unbuckled her seat belt, before opening the door and getting out. Mulder followed her out of the car, but got only a few steps before he felt another tickle in his nose. He stopped to wipe it on the back of his hand, but that only seemed to make it worse until-

"ESCHOO!"

He inhaled through his mouth and sniffed deeply, realizing Scully was staring at him.

"What?" He asked defensively, sniffing again between coughs. "Why-...ha...a...ha...ha...HHESCHOO!"

Feeling the snot on his face Mulder flushed with embarrassment and tried to wipe it away. God- he was sure Scully would think highly of him after this... He knew she would crack some brilliant joke and push him inside, giving him a quick lecture on staying healthy and the importance of rest before departing- but instead her felt a soft hand take his arm, while the other hand pressed a wad of clean tissues into his.

Looking up with surprise he saw Scully's half smile, her hand rubbing his back as she walked him slowly toward the apartment building.

"Lets get you inside." She said softly, and those were the last words spoken for the rest of the hike up the stairs. She made no jokes, said nothing, and already had a key in hand as they approached his door. She slid the key into the lock and let them both in, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Mulder was touched by her kindness. She could have just opened the car door and said "goodbye" and "feel better soon", but she walked him inside, making no jokes or sly remarks. Her gentle rubbing on the small of his back was rhythmic and soothing, and he found himself resting his head on top of her's, his dark hair mingling with her fiery red bob. Scully seemed to enjoy this and leaned toward his hair, her breath ruffling his brown locks. Once they were inside however she softly pushed him off and slipped into the next room.

Mulder leaned against the wall for support and closed his eyes momentarily. He opened his mouth to thank Scully, but instead sneezed again, thankfully managing to cover his nose and mouth with a tissue.

Scully was already in the living room, clearing off the sofa and coffee table before pulling a blanket and pillow out of the hall closet. She grabbed a pair of Mulder's sweat pants and a tee shirt out of the dresser and headed back into the kitchen, pajamas in hand.

"Here." She declared, handing him the clothes. "Go change and I'll get you some water and tylenol."

Mulder began to argue: "Scully you've already done so much, you don't need to stay with me..he...he...HASHHOOO." Regaining his composure Mulder continued. "You should go home... He suddenly felt very hot and brushed a hand against his clammy forehead.

Scully sighed and laid her eyes onto his slumped figure. "Mulder- you know you're sick, I know you're sick, and god knows if I leave you'll be in ICU by Sunday. So go change, and I'll take care of everything else."

Seeing her fierce blue eyes melted his heart to a puddle- so Mulder obeyed, shuffling toward the bathroom while Scully turned and walked in the opposite direction. She smiled with satisfaction, breathing in the smell of him as she flipped on the kitchen lights.

The windows outside the tiny living room glistened black, sprinkled with only the light of the stars. Scully sat down on the chair next to Mulder's "bed" and handed him a hot mug of tea.

"It's peppermint." She said, folding her hands into her lap. "It will help clear your chest."

"Thanks." Mulder croaked, coughing into his arm before accepting the steaming liquid. Silence fell between the two partners, though it was not remotely uncomfortable or awkward. More like the silence you might feel in your own home as you read or cook dinner- an easy, comforting silence that's more peaceful than anything else.

However it didn't last long, and after a few moments Mulder spoke: "I'm sure this is the best Friday night you've ever had." Shivering under the mass of quilts, he coughed again before continuing. "Babysitting your dying partner..."

Noticing with dismay the shiver, Scully produced a thermometer from her pocket and snapped off the plastic casing before pulling the blue cup away from Mulder's grip.

"Open your mouth." She instructed.

Mulder sighed internally but obeyed and allowed Scully to place the glass tube under his tongue. They sat for a moment as the thermometer registered, the peaceful stilling falling back into play.

"I remember this time in High School," She started, shifting onto her knees and resting an elbow on the coffee table. "I was supposed to go to a friend's house, but my friend ended up getting the flu, so I ended up going to a party with Melissa... First night I ever got drunk. I mean _really_drunk..." Scully laughed and absentmindedly brushed a strand of hair off her cheek.

"My mother was almost glad when I came home, all pale and nauseous- I'd always been such a square. I think she was glad I'd let loose..."

Mulder played with the thermometer under his tongue, trying to visualize a seventeen-year-old Scully. He tried to picture her in jeans and a tee-shirt, beer in hand, giggling as she clutched the waist of an older boy... He shook his head. Even considering it seemed wrong, as though it defied the laws of nature. Not matter how hard to tried, Mulder simply couldn't imagine Scully being anything short of her tight fisted, dry, beautiful, authority-commanding self. She was too deeply burned into his mind to be anything but-well, Scully.

Just as Mulder was absorbed in his thoughtful muse, Scully brushed a hand across his cheek yet again, sensing there was something heavy in the stillness between them. The touch sent a nearly electric pulse between them, causing her to retract her hand. She looked at the man before her and was overwhelmed with tenderness. She knew there was no reason for her to be feeling all the things that were burning her chest, the emotions that were threatening to flood out of her very soul. The rush she got hearing his voice on the phone at 2:00 in the morning. The little skip her heart did when he opened the office door. The way her whole world shattered during those twenty-four hours she had thought him to be dead. Scully looked down at her partner, her fingers grazing his clammy forehead. His hair was sticking up in all directions and half plastered to his forehead with sweat, his lips were cracked and he was so congested he could hardly speak. And yet, it spite of everything, in spite of his messy appearance and outrageous theories and sarcastic comebacks to her scientific reasoning: she had never been so happy to be with anyone in her life.

She realized something else too, something she had never been able to fully admit to herself until now. She loved him. She was in love. Deep, mad, passionate love, like the kind she had so wanted when she was sixteen. The kind of love people say doesn't exist. The kind of love people die for.

Scully could feel the blood ringing in her ears, taste the dryness in her mouth. She couldn't believe she was confessing this to herself. She had never even _thought_those words, let alone said them out loud. She loved him. She was in love with Fox Mulder. Scully tried to process it, to make sense of the words in her head. Suddenly the need to tell Mulder filled her. She felt that he must know what was burning in her chest, that she would be unable to do anything until he knew. That he understood.

Leaning forward, her heart thumping a million miles a second, she closed her eyes and planted the gentlest of kisses on the crown of his head. Taking a moment, lingering, she breathed him in. Felt the warmth from his overheated skin radiate onto her. This was it, she could just brush a hand over his head and step away, she could just leave, she should leave...She took a breath, before allowing those forbidden words to roll off her lips.

"I love you." She whispered, bearly audible. "I love you Mulder."

She looked at him nervously, waiting for his reaction. A smile, a laugh, a hug. But Mulder just sat there, his eyebrows arched, the thermometer sticking out of the corner of his mouth and a rather amused expression clinging to his face. Scully felt her face go scarlet: "Oh god" she thought, "What have I done? What the hell was I thinking going blurting out some stupid passing fancy to him?"

Scully pulled away and stiffened, feeling a slight burning in her eyes. What had she done? Oh god he thought she was a fool, all he felt for her was friendship. Just friends. Well good for him, that's all they were supposed to be. Just friends, partners- nothing more. Don't cry, she thought. Oh god don't cry in front of him. She didn't want him to think she'd gone soft. She sniffed and shoved the sadness away into the corner of her mind trying to contain the pain and humiliation that was threatening to spill over.

"You should get some sleep." Scully said roughly, turning to pick up her coat off the floor. "I left some more tylenol on the top shelf in the bathroom, so-"

Suddenly Mulder pulled the thermometer out of his mouth and pulled her into an embrace.

"I love you too Scully." He replied, with not a trace of laughter to his tone as his fingers twined themselves into her hair. He loved her, and always had. Always would.

Scully felt a rush of relief as she held him close, breathing in his scent, his hair, his hot skin beneath hers. She was home. Suddenly the sobs broke loose, shaking her body with each gasp as she clung onto Mulder for dear life. She thought of everything they had gone through, all the deaths, the pain. Emily, her sister and father, his parents, his sister. The hospital rooms they had lain in, side by side, holding each other as death skated by, just missing them. They hugs and hand-holds that had kept them together, the soft words that padded the pain. The laughter and joy they had shared in that tiny office in the basement. The coffee and pizza, midnight runs for chinese food that they had eaten in his apartment. Suddenly it all made sense: they were meant to be together. It was destiny.

She leaned in deeper, laying little kisses down along his hair line, her hand wrapping protectively around his. Mulder leaned toward her and whispered again, this time looking into her eyes, as if willing her to understand.

"I love you Scully. I've loved you since the first time I saw you and I don't ever want us to be apart- I want you to be safe and happy forever. You deserve everything."

Scully cracked a smile through the tears, his words like tiny kisses on her soul. "I was afraid... I was afraid you didn't want me..."

Mulder kissed her forehead and mumured only for her to hear: "I want you."

And that was all it took. Their lips matched perfectly, like interlocking puzzle pieces that had just been waiting to be found. The two curled together, hands intertwined, the faint scent of cherry cough syrup lingering in the air.

**The End**


End file.
